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A whole new world of ignorance

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  • A whole new world of ignorance

    Ive just been given an iRoast2 and have dutifully got myself the CS starter pack. Ive read about first cracks and rolling FCs and rolling second crackss, and how I should note temperatures, times, colour and actual taste. Ive done a couple of roasts on preset 1 and preset 2, and have written down FC and RFC (I presume) times.

    But in truth, all Ive really done is let it run until the beans look about the right colour.

    There are so many variables - bean, temp, time and temp profile. I could play around for the next couple of years changing one at a time and see what I get in the cup. But are there any principles to follow to make it simpler? At least with learning to make the coffee there was the 30s/60ml, and visual warm honey vs mousetail clues, and tasting right there and then, to gauge progress.

    For example, Ive always had to cut the roast at 7 or 7.30 minutes, rather than the 9 and 11 on the presets. Is that bad? And with the roar of the iRoast, I dont know if Im hearing a RFC or a second crack. And does it matter?

  • #2
    Re: A whole new world of ignorance

    Gday, errr.... Mate :-?

    Sorry, cant make out what your nickname is..... :-[

    If you do a search on the IRoast using the search tool above, Im sure youll turn up a lot of useful information as this has been a topic of recent and detailed discussion. All the best,

    Mal.

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    • #3
      Re: A whole new world of ignorance

      Originally posted by Mal link=1221099202/0#1 date=1221112949
      Gday, errr.... Mate :-?
      Sorry, cant make out what your nickname is..... :-[Mal.
      I say it would be Baldryk from what I can make out. Either its all Cyrillic and Im way off or its a new form of sophisticated 133+ speak

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      • #4
        Re: A whole new world of ignorance

        The first letter "Þ" looks like the Norse for "th" as in Thundergod.
        So that threw my attempts at working it out.

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        • #5
          Re: A whole new world of ignorance

          Well I can safely say the nickname is not English

          CS is a world community after all
          Even if (bald#+) is a new arrival to our beautiful country

          KK

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          • #6
            Re: A whole new world of ignorance

            I think its Baldryk if you look under where the personal picture should be it says Baldryk.

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            • #7
              Re: A whole new world of ignorance

              Originally posted by martybean link=1221099202/0#5 date=1221118109
              I think its Baldryk if you look under where the  personal picture should be it says Baldryk.
              I wish I had said that (about 4 posts higher) I think Baldryk has altered his/her profile since Mals post and his/her secret identity has been revealed

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              • #8
                Re: A whole new world of ignorance

                Thank you all. I have done a search and there are useful things on temp profiles to try out. Im afraid I still have little clue as to what Im trying to achieve though. Whats the difference in taste between beans on an increasing profile over 12 minutes, and one starting hotter and finishing after 6 minutes? What difference does FC and SC make anyway if I just stop it when they are brown enough?

                I guess I shall try it out for myself.

                Cheers - baldryk (well done flynnaus, apologies everyone else)

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                • #9
                  Re: A whole new world of ignorance

                  I pasted it into MS Word and can read all the letters now.

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                  • #10
                    Re: A whole new world of ignorance

                    Originally posted by þ[ch945
                    [ch8467][ch273][ch915][ch1209][ch1179] link=1221099202/0#7 date=1221119786]Thank you all. I have done a search and there are useful things on temp profiles to try out. Im afraid I still have little clue as to what Im trying to achieve though. Whats the difference in taste between beans on an increasing profile over 12 minutes, and one starting hotter and finishing after 6 minutes? What difference does FC and SC make anyway if I just stop it when they are brown enough?

                    I guess I shall try it out for myself.

                    Cheers - baldryk (well done flynnaus, apologies everyone else)
                    In general (and there are always exceptions) lighter roasts are brighter and more acidic whereas darker roasts are fuller and more subdued. I stand to be corrected here, but I think FC and SC are harped on about mainly because theyre the only definitive markers of the roasts progress, rather than producing any sudden change of flavour in themselves. SC is the one most often noted for espresso drinkers as roasts stopped much before that tend to be too bright for the espresso process, and much after that tends to be charcoal!

                    Shorter roasts may be less even than a long roast taken to the same colour, and less evenly roasted through, so if it looks the right colour on the outside it may not be when you crack a bean open. I guess thered also be differences in terms of what happens to the sugars and how that affects the flavour but I dont have anything to go on with that. A couple of months ago I did a 100% heat roast all the way to SC in my Hottop (finished in 13 minutes rather than the normal 19) and it still tasted fine - different but unfortunately I cant recall now exactly how, but it wasnt the mouthful of berry and lemonade I would have got if itd been stopped that short on a normal profile. The roast was quite even too ut thats not going to be the case in every type of roaster for every type of bean.

                    A gentle ramp is the most common type of roast profile used such as the one shown on http://www.thingscoffee.com.au/**.php#video-htb. This is perhaps because its the easiest for traditional drum roasters to produce, but a gentle heating system allows the bean to get heated all the way through. Fluid bed roasters such as yours and poppers are able to vary the heat a lot quicker than something like a 12kg gas roaster with a big drum, or a Hottop, so you may like to experiment with a Gene-like profile where people tend to let them run flat out to a 230ish set point and then flatten for a while, allowing the beans to take on the heat from the hot air, and see whether you find this affects the end result. Or a sawtooth profile, or anything else that takes your fancy. Youll probably discover the ramp works best but at least then youll know why its used!

                    Greg

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                    • #11
                      Re: A whole new world of ignorance

                      Gday þ[ch945][ch8467][ch273][ch915][ch1209][ch1179]...

                      Great advice there from Greg. Another reference I use a lot is this one from the Coffee Research Organisation, pretty well for all things coffee. Another one that is very informative for home-roasters is Sweet Marias; a wealth of useful information to be found there.

                      Swatting through the reams of info contained in these two sites alone will arm you with pretty well all the pertinent knowledge of coffee roasting to get you started at home and experimenting with your own setup. Dont be afraid to try different ways of doing things, its a great way of learning how to roast to profiles that suit your palate, and thats what were all about here at CoffeeSnobs.... 8-)

                      All the best,
                      Mal.

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